


Days Gone By

by leahsmindpalace



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enjolras is trying to stay strong, Enjolras-centric, Grantaire is dead, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Potentially OOC, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 11:47:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10490223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leahsmindpalace/pseuds/leahsmindpalace
Summary: Combeferre, Courfeyrac, and Jehan go to check on Enjolras after the funeral.





	

"Enjolras, please. Open the door. We're your friends." Combeferre tries to plead with the man, closing his eyes as he and the two other friends (who had the heart to come) try their final attempts of the day of seeing Enjolras. 

Enjolras, their strong and fearless leader. Enjolras, their source of hope in times of trouble. Enjolras, boyfriend of Grantaire, a man who died exactly one week ago today in a car accident.

 

"I said I'm fine. Leave me be." Came a muffled voice from inside. 

 

"We just want to see you." Courfeyrac retorts. "Please? We've not seen you since the funeral. Let us know you're at least taking care of yourself."

 

"I'm not." The blonde snapped from inside his apartment. "There's your answer. What's the point?"

 

"Well then we should try and help!" Combeferre says, trying to sound positive, despite the dark cloud hanging over them all during all this.

 

"I don't need help, I need-!" Enjolras stopped, covering his mouth, half of the reason being because he didn't want to say his name and the other because he was afraid his voice would collapse just like the ground seemed to beneath him when he first heard the news.

 

Combeferre, Courfeyrac and Jehan all exchanged looks, knowing that he couldn't say Grantaire's name. 

 

After a few minutes and too much arguing, Enjolras finally came to the door and swung it open. They all three looked him over. He still had most of his suit from the funeral on and his curls were unruly. His face was even worse, his eyes rimmed red and his skin splotchy. "Here I am…" He says, eyes downcast. "Don't I look great?" 

 

Combeferre immediately pulled his friend into a hug, followed by Coufeyrac and then Jehan. Each took their turn saying soft condolences. Enjolras shut them out a bit, not really wanting to think about the loss everybody was so sorry for. He was sure it was just different versions of the same few phrases he'd heard the past week. He just nodded and thanked them, decoding that was the easiest route.

 

Courfeyrac looked around the house and almost shivered. It had seemed Grantaire was still here, despite being gone. There were shoes by the door, a post-it note about getting more milk on the fridge, and dirty dishes in the sink. His heart sank especially when he saw the bottles of wine not yet consumed and canvases of white, not yet painted. 

 

"Is there anything we can do for you?" Combeferre asked him, and Enjolras knew that there was no way he'd take no for an answer. And he wouldn't dare say something smart like "bring him back". He was their friend, too. He just sort of shrugged. 

 

"I could help tidy up a bit." Jehan suggested and smiled a bit of a shit excuse for a smile, eyes wet despite blinking the emotions back. 

 

"Ehm, ye-…yeah. If you want. I…" He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "Would any of you be terribly offended if I took a shower?" He asked, suddenly feeling disgusting in the presence of all of his friends who'd brought him back to reality enough to realize that it had been long enough since the funeral to take off the button-up shirt, pants, and tie that hung loosely around his neck. 

 

"I'd be offended if you didn't." Courfeyrac spoke up, teasing him. They all shared a laugh and Enjolras nodded then, going to take a shower. Everyone knew that Courfeyrac was just trying to lighten the mood, but there was a strange silence afterwards (save for the sound of Enjolras trudging down the hall) that was heavier than any prior. They all knew that Grantaire, if he was watching, would be angry at them for being so emotional or crying. They all knew that he'd try to lighten the mood like always with jokes and teasing remarks. Everything was too serious. 

 

\---

The next half an hour or so, the three went about cleaning the place up. Dirty dishes were washed, countertops were cleaned, and that now almost taunting post-it note was ripped from the fridge and thrown away. Jehan opened up the windows, not particularly enjoying the stale air that reminded them too much of death. 

 

Combeferre picked up a few of the empty canvases and gently tucked them away into the closet. He stared at them for a moment but didn't allow himself to feel too emotional. That was for another time.

 

Enjolras emerged from the bathroom, clean and more comfortable clothes on and he instantaneously noticed that the place was much cleaner than before and all the things that caused him more pain than fondness were out of sight. "Thank you, my friends." He exhaled, a lump in his throat. He smiled a weak smile. "Do you…think you could stay?" He asked, not really meeting their eyes.

Courfeyrac, Jehan, and Combeferre all exchanged looks. It was so unlike Enjolras to admit he needed anyone or to ask for help. Jehan's eyes filled with tears yet again. Poor Enjolras.

 

"Of course we can." Combeferre spoke up finally, clearing his throat. 

 

"Thank you." Came a mumbled reply from the blonde.

 

\--

After a while they all had migrated into the living room, just talking about small things as they sat on the couch. 

"How've you been sleeping?" A concerned Jehan asks Enjolras finally and he replies with a deep sigh and a bit of a breathy chuckle. 

Enjolras had thought about lying but didn't. He instead spoke too much truth, it seemed. "I only sleep when I get too exhausted from being awake and…from crying." He admitted with a shrug of one shoulder, voice becoming wobbly and eyes to the ceiling for a brief moment to avoid tears coming. "Probably only about two or three hours a night." He says and thinks for a brief moment before shaking his head slowly. "Sleeping alone is so hard." He said out loud and bowed his head, interlocking his fingers on the back of his neck as he began to cry. "It's so hard!" He sobbed. 

 

Combeferre, who was closest, pulled him into a hug, trying to comfort him. Enjolras sobbed into his shoulder after a while, arms wrapped around him and gripping the back of his shirt in his fists. "I'm so sorry, Enj." He said, his own voice compromised with emotion now. "I'm sorry." 

Jehan was startled to hear Enjolras cry and look to Courfeyrac, exchanging a look of surprise and then pity. They cried but tried to stay silent about it, despite a few small but sharp inhales escaping audibly. 

 

\---

After around an hour things had begun to get quieter, Enjolras had stopped sobbing but tears still rolled down his cheeks as he leaned against his friend's shoulder. Combeferre was smoothing his hair down, humming an incoherent tune while Courf and Jehan took the liberty of making a meal for Enjolras, despite it being almost midnight. If he hadn't showered since the morning of the funeral and barely slept, there was no telling how he'd eaten, if at all. And he certainly didn't protest when they got up and headed towards the kitchen.

 

"You know we'll always be here when you need us, right?" Jehan later said to Enjolras, who had just finished his bowl of chicken noodle soup. 

 

"I do. Thank you all for coming." He answers, smiling a bit. "I didn't know it, but I needed all of this. I know you have busy schedules an-" 

 

"Oh, don't worry about us." Courfeyrac chuckles a bit. "All work can wait. If you need us, we're here. And there's more than we three. The others just... didn't have the time to come at this particular moment. And some of them just…can't yet." 

 

Enjolras nods, understanding. "Thank you nevertheless." He says. "And I promise you I'll be back to the meetings soon instead of moping around here." 

 

The three others had again exchanged looks. "Enj, we…we understand it's going to take time." Combeferre spoke up, surprised at his words. "And I think I can speak for most of us when I say that not even we are ready to jump right back into buisness yet. You're our friend. We may look up to you as a leader in some ways but you are our friend. We don't blame you for taking time off, for God's sake." He shakes his head.

 

"Oh…" Enjolras manages. 

 

"I know you may think of yourself as looking weak but right now I think is the strongest I've ever seen you. You've been through one of the most awful things a human on this earth can experience in their lifetime. And you've experienced it much earlier than most people expect to." He continues. "Please don't hide your feelings from us. Don't hide at all." 

 

Courf and Jehan both agreed, nodding. 

 

Enjolras nods and more tears come to his eyes as he hugs Combeferre again. "Thank you…" He whispers and hugs the other two. 

\- 

\--

The night ended around two-thirty, with Enjolras asleep, his head on Jehan's lap and his body curled up on the couch. "He's asleep now." Jehan whispers and the other two look away from the television and to their sleeping friend. He looked much more peaceful now, blonde curls hanging a bit over his face and lips parted slightly as steady breaths made their way in and out of his tired frame.

 

"Good." Courf says, and Combeferre exhales in relief. 

 

Jehan smiles a bit. "I hope he'll be okay." They sigh sadly. 

 

"He will be eventually, when the grief is not so brand new." Courfeyrac spoke. "We will just have to care for him until then."

**Author's Note:**

> Woke up and wrote this in the middle of the night a few days ago. Have mercy upon me, critics. xoxo


End file.
